If I'd had any idea how deep into the shit me and Boone were going to have to dig to make Hildern happy I would've told him to go fuck himself. What he'd wanted from us was pretty straightforward on paper, just like everything else in my life. Hildern was a scientist of some variety, one sent to the Mojave to help oversee the power output from the dam. He was also in charge of researching potential solutions to the otherwise budding myriad of problems cropping up in the NCR. How he'd gotten to that position though was beyond me, since the guy was clearly dumber than a bag of mutfruit. He could talk a big game, and knew how to sell himself; I'd give him that much. But clearly he was ill-fit for the position he held, a reoccurring theme I was starting to notice. It didn't take much to notice either, just looking at his otherwise immaculate appearance set off a few alarms for me. It helped that his assistant, A miss Angela Williams, looked like she hadn't even had time to wash her face recently.

But for the sake of getting myself on better terms with the NCR at large, I'd ignored my instincts and followed through on what Hildern wanted. Again, terrible mistake.

What the job entailed was simple, the NCR was going to run into a food problem soon, something the Sharecroppers were going to help stave off. Except that something had been keeping the Sharecroppers behind on their quotas and they hadn't quite had the man power to figure out what yet. So instead of mustering the men to find out what, Hildern decided to do what any sane man would do. Try and dig up a bit of pre-war tech and knowledge, then bash it against the problem until something broke. You know, like a smart person. He told me and Boone about this place called Vault 22. A pre-war installation that'd been meant to keep people safe until after the bombs had fallen. Apparently, travelers who'd traveled near the place had been reporting for years that it was a literal oasis. That fresh food and plant life had been springing from the place for anyone to grab. What Hildern wanted to know, was how this was happening, why it was, and how the NCR could profit. So he told me and Boone to traverse the vault and locate any information about what went on there that allowed for the place to be how it was.

After a short stop to stock up on some essentials me and Boone hit the road. The place was only a few hours outside of outer Vegas, so it wasn't going to be a long walk. At that point I'd only been to one other Vault, Vault 21. I'd learned there that most of the Vaults had been run with some sort of sinister experiment in mind. So I couldn't help but think that the plants were somehow linked back to it. But until we got there and got looking, I wouldn't know for sure.

Aside from the warning sign outside that said 'STAY OUT! THE PLANTS KILL!' we weren't really sure what we were getting into. For all we knew, it just meant the plants were poisonous and that we were going to have to watch our step.

By the time we'd understood the actual meaning it'd been too late to go back.

The only way to traverse the place when we'd arrived was to use the stairs. The elevator was busted and I was too inexperienced with fixing things at the time to repair it without either killing it or me. So stairs it was. We went down the first floor or two without incident. The place looked like it hadn't been maintained for over two hundred years. Most of the plants had overflowed out of their containment and were rooted anywhere they could find space. Leaving most of the floors covered in dense foliage. The air was moist and humid, I'd never been to a swamp but got the feeling the atmosphere was similar. The place looked and felt abandoned.

It wasn't until Boone stepped in the wrong place that we found otherwise. We'd been working our way through the second floor when Boone stepped on… something. Some green humanoid abomination that had some form of spore colony growing out of its back. I'll just call them spore carriers for simplicity's sake. The carrier jumped Boone the moment after he'd stepped on it, and would've ripped his throat out if I hadn't taken its head off with Vulpes' Ripper.

Having been attacked by something we'd never seen before, we took that as our cue to turn tail back out of the place. Namely so we could come back with weapons better fit to fight whatever else was in there.

Unfortunately, my luck wouldn't allow that. We got back to the stairs only to find them blocked by a wall of freshly grown vines. Ones that, when I tried to cut them, made an attempt to entangle and pull me into them. If Boone hadn't been nearby to pull me back, I probably would've bought it right there.

Without even a clue of how it had happened, the worst outcome had occurred. Boone and I were trapped inside the vault. Worse, it was likely caused by the very things we'd come to collect in the first place.

Irony at its finest.

Without much better option, we pressed onward. The vines didn't follow us or close us in as we went deeper, so it was safe to assume these plants weren't sentient. But that didn't change the fact that we were trapped. Trapped with an army of spore carriers and, as we later discovered, actual plants that were trying to kill us.

By the time the first day had ended, The two of us had made it to the fourth floor and sequestered ourselves in a locked off stairwell. We found this sweet laser rifle, which was a silver-lining, but it didn't do much for us.

We spent the next two scrounging supplies and trying to understand the Vault. We hadn't brought much to eat and the food in the Vault was mostly irradiated, big shocker there. We did discover one thing though. The spore plants, the other thing that was actively trying to kill us, tasted like desert salad. They were a bit fibrous, but at least they kept us full.

While we were at it, we made efforts to collect as much from the vault as we could. Apparently all the killer plants had kept people from looting the place. Go figure. There were plenty of jumpsuits lying around, in addition to medicine, ammo, and some other miscellaneous stuff. Like some sort of food additive this place had apparently been developing or some air-filters the maintenance crew had in stock. We also collected the data Hildern had wanted, for the little good it did us while we were stuck down there. I also made a point of trying to track down someone else who was supposedly there. Angela Williams had asked a favor of me. Apparently another of Hildern's assistants, a ghoul woman named Keely, had been sent here before us. She was supposed to only have been gone for a day or two, but hadn't reported in for nearly a week. Hildern didn't give two shits about her, unsurprising, but Angela had offered a bonus if we tracked Keely down. We'd been finding her notes scattered around the Vault, in between bouts of fighting off the ambushes by spore-carriers, most of which were meticulously ordered and showed an amazing attention to detail, a good sign she had an idea of what she was talking about. So on the fifth day, when we discovered the notes left by the Vault's previous inhabitants, we finally had an understanding of our situation. Calling it 'pretty fucking grim' would be an understatement.

To summarize: all of the spore carriers we'd fought and killed had been human once. Something had gone wrong with a set of filters and some plant spores that were being tested escaped to the rest of the vault. There were signs that they'd tried to contain it, but had failed and things had spiraled from there. Supposedly a small contingence of people had managed to escape the vault, but it was a scant number compared to the ones that'd been infected. It explained why this place was open and spewing plants though.

From what Keely's notes had shown the spores were still around too. They apparently didn't have much of an effect on her since she was a ghoul. The radiation in her must have been killing them off before they had any effect.

But Boone and I didn't have that. If we were lucky, some of the irradiated food was helping keep them at bay. But that didn't change the fact that the spores were in the air we were breathing, and my motorcycle helmet didn't have any filters built into it.

At the revelation that we were going to slowly turn into ravenous freaks, Boone and I changed gears and made it our prerogative to find Keely. If she was still alive, she probably would have a better idea at this point about what to do with our situation than either of us.

It took us a while to crack open the door she'd locked, and another hour or so to find her in the cavern she'd hidden away in. Of course, it didn't help that said cavern practically was a swamp, teeming with the spore carriers and plants. But, again, not important. We got Keely out of the cavern and she was gracious enough to repair the elevator, finally giving Boone and myself an escape from the spores.

We were both tempted to jump ship right then and there, but we both knew that letting the spores spread in any concentration outside of the vault would be a bad idea. So we stuck around and listened to what Keely had to say. She was working to erase the data about how the spores were produced so they couldn't be replicated in the future. But that did little to actually destroy the ones that already existed. For that, she needed me and Boone to go back down and set off a contingency she'd made up. An explosive with enough heat to flash fry roughly ninety-five percent of them. The remaining five percent would likely be too damaged afterward to be viable anyway. She made it clear that there was no guarantee this would handle all of the problems either. The door to the Vault had been open so long that the likelihood there were already pockets of spores hidden in the Mojave was pretty high. But compared to what would happen if the Vault was left as it was, they were small tatos.

Which left us with one final issue: how to cause the explosion. Keely's contingency was an otherwise stable gas that wouldn't be set off by things like gunfire. Good thing, since Boone and I would've blown ourselves to pieces otherwise by now. But it was also only flammable if the appropriate amount of heat was applied, meaning we'd need another explosion just to trigger this one. Fortunately, we'd found an alternative on our first day here. Unfortunately, it also meant we had no way to out-run the blast when we set it off.

Which meant what we were about to try next was going to be a gamble.

We were standing in the server room on the fifth floor of the vault, just a short distance from the vents Keely was pouring the gas from. Boone was pressed up against the wall right beside the door, hand waiting on the switch to close it. I held the AER-14 prototype laser rifle in my hands. It probably hadn't seen use in a few centuries, so I needed to make sure it wouldn't just explode when I tapped the trigger.

"This is insane." Boone growled "We're going to get ourselves killed"

"That hasn't stopped you in the past." I pointed out

"Yea, but I actually want to live now."

"So does everyone else Boone, which is why we're doing this."

"Doesn't mean that the way we're doing this isn't insane. Couldn't you just use a grenade?"

"Would if I had one. This isn't my favorite idea either."

Boone grimaced, we both hated this idea, but this was the only way we had to do it. And it just so happened to require cracker-jack timing on both our parts for it to work properly. Lest we both wind up extra-crispy.

I quit fiddling with the laser rifle and tested the stock. Making sure I could shoot straight with it. I wasn't going to be able to sight it in, so I was just going to have to hope.

"Alright, last second recap." I said "I pull the trigger, the laser fires, and you have at most a second to hit the button. If done right, the doors should be strong enough to keep the blast out and cook everything else down here. If we fuck up, the blast will sear us medium rare like a pair of Brahmin steaks. No pressure, right?"

Boone rolled his eyes and sighed. "Right…"

"Alright, I'll give the three count. On three, I shoot, ok?"

Boone nodded gravely. What could possibly go wrong?

"… Alright." I said "… One."

I put the stock into my shoulder and took aim.

"… Two."

Boone tensed on the wall, hand hovering just over the switch.

I took one last breath. Hopefully not my last.

"… Three!"

I pulled the trigger and a bolt of green light pierced through the air, colliding with the vent on the far end of the hall just outside the doorway. Boone slammed the switch down.

The flames erupted from the vent so fast I hardly had time to blink. They leapt outward, chasing the gas the permeated this level of the vault and the few above.

They reached the door a fraction of a second before the metal shutter slid shut. A cloud of flame and a wave of heat washed over me. It felt like I'd waved my face through a campfire for a second. A campfire that was large enough to blow me onto my ass. Before I could scream though, the door slid shut, cutting off the heated shockwave as the blast rippled across the rest of the Vault.

It took a moment for me to realize I wasn't dead yet. When I finally did, I picked myself up and found the front half of me was covered in soot. My skin stung a bit from the sudden flare of heat. But it didn't feel severe enough to warrant much more than a little aloe later.

"… heh, holy shit, we're alive." I said, looking to my companion "How you doin' Bo-"

I stopped halfway through and stared at Boone. Then had to stifle laughter at the sight of him.

Despite the fact that he'd been standing behind more cover than me, he looked like he'd been hit worse. The half of him that'd been standing closest to the door was blackened with soot and his clothes were half singed to ash. A lens from his Aviator glasses had been blown out, leaving one eye clearly exposed. His beret had been blown across the room, leaving his shaved head exposed. He looked like a goddamn mess and after everything we'd gone through down there, I needed a laugh.

"… heh." Boone chuckled, clearly relieved despite his stoic nature "he he heh."

"What's so *snrk* funny?" I asked

"You look like shit."

"Hmph, look who's talking, jackass."

We took a few minutes to collect ourselves after that. We'd been down there nearly a weak with nothing but constantly fighting to survive. We both needed a good laugh right then. After we were as collected as we could be, we took the elevator back up to Keely and handed the data we'd taken off to her to destroy. Keely said she was worried we'd put up a fight over but at that point, both me and Boone knew letting anyone have that kind of information was a bad idea. We double checked that we had everything and said our goodbyes to that shithole. If I'd had enough fuel, I'd have burned the place down on the way out for good measure. Instead, I had to settle for never giving us a reason to go back there.

As we squeezed through the giant Vault door and out into the Mojave once more, I took a moment to enjoy the dry desert air. After huffing the damp and dank Vault air for so long, it felt good.

"…So-" Boone asked, as we put distance between us and the Vault "What're you going to do about Hildern?"

"Tell him to go fuck himself, that's what." I grumbled "I'll explain what happened to Hsu and hope for the best. He seems like a level headed guy, and if I've got Keely and Williams to back me up he'll probably take my side over Hildern's."

"Sounds like it'll work. He's got a reputation for it."

"Good, because it's either that or risk taking plants out of the vault and I'm not about to do that."

"Hmm."

Boone and I stepped past the massive hills that sequestered Vault 22 from the rest of the Mojave in time to see the sunrise. Even with all the travelling I'd done, I'd only woken up to see the sunrise a handful of times. It was just one of the things I'd never made much time for. We stopped for a moment to watch it pick up past the horizon, dying the sky a cherry red.

It was about then that I noticed something about myself. As the first rays of light began to hit my skin, I could feel much of the weariness I'd accumulated over the past few day begin to melt away. Instead, replaced with an energy I wasn't wholly familiar with. An energy I wasn't averse to either. The aches began to ebb from me, and the stinging from my burned face began to fade. It felt good.

But I also knew whatever I was feeling wasn't normal.

"… You feel that?" Boone asked

My stomach did a little dip as I looked to Boone. Perhaps the feeling wasn't mutually exclusive.

"Feel what?" I asked, probing carefully to avoid freaking out.

"The sun." Boone said "It feels… good."

"… Good as in emotionally fulfilling, or as in you're feeling physically good?"

Boone turned and looked me in the eye. I could tell since he hadn't fixed his aviators and his un-lensed eye was staring at mine. He looked impassive, but his body language said he was uncertain himself.

"… oh fuck me you feel it too, don't you?"

Boone nodded gravely. Looking away from me and setting his jaw.

It'd been something I had considered while we were stuck down there, in the Vault. With all the time we were there, sucking in the dank air, why weren't we feeling the effects of the spores?

"… with everything down there…" I started "… you don't think-"

"Six, don't." Boone answered "We start down that path, only trouble's waiting for us."

"But if something happened-"

"Then we'll handle it when we get there." Boone said "At this point, we're surrounded by clean air and in a different environment than down there. If something is actually wrong with us, then there isn't much we can about it anyway."

"Then what do we do?"

"Not a damn thing. Right now, all I want is to go back to the 38, get something to eat and drink, then sleep on something that isn't a set of metal stairs."

"…ok." I nodded "ok, yeah, I think I can get onboard with that."

"Good, after that you can figure out what to do next."

…

My eyes cracked open just before the alarm went off. There was a crick in my neck and back, and my legs felt numb. My face was laying against a table, with my arms cushioning it. My body was sore, it took me a moment to remember why, then another to remember why I was sleeping on a table.

I shifted my arms and set myself upright on my stool, freeing up a small area of lab table. Something that had been draped over me slid off and flopped onto the ground. It only registered at the edge of my waking mind though. I unbuckled my helmet and slid it up enough to rub my eyes. Rubbing the sleep out of them, I stared down at the lab table, trying to put the pieces back together. I was surrounded by an assortment of beakers, test tubes, burners, and a litany of other items, including the remains of some thoroughly abused Xander root and Brock flower petals.

The smell of scorched plant matter was the next thing to hit me.

Sitting over top of a burner was a glass beaker on a stand the bottom of the beaker had been scorched black and there was a large crack running the height of it. Around the stand was a puddle of dried liquid and macerated plant bits. My brain finally began clicking into gear as I remembered what I'd been doing.

'Well, I guess that makes batch number seven a failure.'

I didn't have the clearest recollection of how my night had ended. I could remember setting my most recent attempt at a stimpack - number seven - on the burner, hoping the heat would condense everything and breakdown or denature some of the stronger compounds. I'd decided on using a slower and longer heat cycle for this batch, to see if extended time was the key. Unfortunately, after that everything got a bit hazy, and I had an idea as to why. Now I was going to have to repeat everything just to find out what the results were.

I looked at the burner and took note of something. It had been put out, and I couldn't see or smell any gas leaking, which would mean I'd either run the school's supply dry or had enough presence of mind to turn the thing off before passing out. But then why was the glass scorched? The glass was cracked, and there was a dried puddle surrounding everything. Maybe the beaker had doused the burner? But if that were the case I'd have suffocated myself, the gas would've filled the room while I was sleeping. I knew better than to chalk it up to good luck, that's always in short supply.

What it came down to at the moment though was that I was still, woefully, half-asleep. I'd be able to get a better idea of things once I was fully cognizant. My hands fumbled with the tin of coffee beans as I pulled it from my collection of odds and ends. I set it on the table and cleared the cracked beaker from the burner. Replacing the ruined piece of glassware with a fresh one. I dumped some fresh water into it and moved to re-light the burner with my lighter. I stopped before that though, and double checked the burner itself. If there were some mechanical reason why it turned off, trying to re-light it might have disastrous effects. From what I could observe though, there appeared to be nothing physically wrong with it. So I went through with igniting it anyway. It lit smoothly and kept an even flame.

I let the water heat up as I began to clean my mess. I mopped up the spilled remnants of batch seven and disposed of any spoiled ingredients. I took the broken beaker for safe keeping. I'd need to dispose of it more thoroughly later. If there was anything anyone could glean from it, no sense in letting them get ahold of it.

As the water began to bubble, I roughly ground some beans and bundled them into a cloth sieve. The old Mojave recipe would've called for me to throw a spat of chewing tobacco in too. To help make the coffee stronger. Personally, I was glad the beans here in Screwball land were better by default. I liked not having my coffee taste like someone spat hundred year old chaw into it.

I killed the heat and set the sieve into the beaker. The sieve began to stain the water a murky brown as the roasted beans steeped. I took the opportunity to get up from my stool and stretch. Sleeping on a stool isn't what one would call comfortable, but I knew it was only partly to blame for the pain that pervaded me. Most of my musculature was sore but my legs and shoulders were the worst though. Pushing seven hundred pounds yesterday wouldn't have been so bad, but I'd run an extra fifty laps after that. Normally not much of an issue, considering my near limitless endurance, but I didn't like pushing it unless I had to - especially when I was lacking in the medicine to help piece me back together.

I arched my back downward as I reached for my toes, stretching the muscles that ran parallel to my spine back to usable shape.

It was about then that I noticed the blanket laying on the floor.

I stayed bent over, staring at the stretch of cloth. I could vaguely remember it falling off of me before when I woke up, though I hadn't really registered it as a blanket. In fact, I didn't recognize it at all. It was a dark blue piece of soft fabric that was wholly alien to me. From what it had seemed like, I'd passed out while working on the most recent test batch. I wouldn't have been able to pull a blanket on myself, I didn't even have a blanket with me. Where did it even come from?

I finally put two and two together at about the same time as the door swung open.

I swung upright, slapping my helmet back down in the process, and put myself in a fighting stance. It was an old reflex, and one I was intending to keep a firm hold on. Standing in the entryway to the lab was Professor Peach.

Holding a tray with a steaming bowl of something on it.

She stared at me blankly for a moment, blinked, and then quirked a smile.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're awake now."

Obviously unphased by the fact I was standing there and ready to attack her, Peach pressed forward. She walked up to the lab table and set the tray and bowl on the table top. It looked to be filled with cereal of some kind. Might've been grits, given the texture and the fact that it was clearly hot. But it looked off. There some thick, yellowed skin covering part of it and I could see brown bits congealed amongst the rest. I looked uncertainly back and forth between her and the bowl. After a moment, she gave me an amused smile.

"… well?" Peach asked "Are you going to continue standing there or would you like to eat before your finals today?"

"Depends, why're you bringing me food, how'd you know I was here, and how do I know it's safe to eat?"

Peach blinked once more in surprise, then gave a light chuckle. "My, someone's a tad paranoid."

'Only around those I know I need to be.' I thought

"Well, to answer:-" Peach continued lightly "I hadn't known you were here until I came in earlier this morning and found you passed out at that table." She motioned to the table "You hadn't even managed to put out the burner before you fell asleep. A large safety hazard, Mister Six."

I rolled my eyes in response.

"Secondly, I brought you something to eat because I'd assumed when you woke up you'd be hungry. That way you might be able to continue working. The blanket was also because you appeared to be a bit cold."

I looked down at the blue sheet before bending over to pick it up. I folded it and set it on my stool, no sense in letting it get too dirty.

"Thirdly" She said, placing a spoon into the bowl of mush "While I understand that the cafeteria's food is not the most tasteful, I assure you, it's not poisoned."

Peach stepped away from the bowl and motioned that I could sit back down. My gaze lingered on her as I acquiesced, but I didn't touch the food she'd brought.

"Sorry if I seem a little cagey." I said, probably not sounding very apologetic. "I wasn't expecting anyone to use the lab."

'Or that I was going to fall asleep while using it.'

"Neither was I." Peach continued brightly "Especially when I found the door was still locked."

"Uh… I was hoping for some privacy."

She chuckled lightly casting a sharp eye over my most recent failure. "I can't possibly imagine why."

A part of me felt the instinctual urge to cover what I was doing, but I got the feeling there was no point now. She'd probably gotten a semi-decent look at it already. Plus, she didn't seem to have any idea what I was specifically doing. If I started making moves now I would just appear guilty.

"I'm genuinely surprised though." Peach continued "I wasn't expecting to find a member of my club having broken into the lab just to continue work."

"… Excuse me?"

"Well, I mean, that's what you are after all. A member of the Botany club." Peach's smile suddenly gained an edge to it. She motioned to the materials I had scattered on the table. "I can excuse a little trouble, after all, when my students are so clearly dedicated to their work."

I stayed silent and stared at Peach for a moment. I picked up on what she was trying to do immediately.

"I am not-"

"Of course-" She continued "If you hadn't been a member of the botany club and I'd found you in here, things would be different." She reached out and picked up some of the brock flowers from the table. I wanted to stop her, but got the feeling doing so would only give her more ammunition for the incoming salvo. "If you were just an unaffiliated student, you'd have to face punishment for a number of different infractions."

"Infractions?"

"Of course. After all, you can't just break into classrooms and use the equipment with impunity. Both of those are infractions in and of themselves. There's also the fact that whatever you're attempting to make while unsupervised could be potentially harmful. Speaking of which, what were you making?"

"… vitamins." I answered after a moment. "I was working on a way to make vitamins."

Peach nodded acceptingly. That was a good sign, it meant she still had no idea what I was really up to. The less anyone knew the better.

"Regardless of your intentions, as long as it's a club related activity those infractions can be overlooked. And you are a club member, aren't you?"

I glared at Peach through the lenses of my gasmask. She was blackmailing me, no bones about it, but it seemed she was also ignorant of what I was actually up to. In an ideal situation I'd be able to talk my way out of it somehow. Convince Peach I wasn't worth the effort and go about my business. But she had me by the balls now. If I didn't play along she could easily go to Ozpin or, worse, Goodwitch and hand them everything. I was willing to trust Ozpin for the moment, but I sure as hell wasn't going to hand over information like this to the man. I had little doubt it would somehow come back to bite me.

My unease and distaste must've been apparent too. Because Peach, after a moment, continued.

"Of course, I'm not saying that you're a particularly diligent member. You hardly ever show up to the meetings."

"I don't have a great fondness for group activities."

"As I've seen. But, as a member, you should come to a meeting on occasion. Maybe no less than once a week?"

It seemed she was bargaining with me now. Still blackmailing me, but trying to make me more agreeable to it. Unfortunately, I still wasn't in much of a position where I could do something about it. What was I going to do, run over to Ozpin and tell him I was being blackmailed? He'd want to know why too.

I didn't want to go back to working for Peach in any capacity, but I needed Stimpacks. Which wasn't going to happen if I didn't play along, and I didn't have many options. Making her 'disappear' was certainly out of the question for a number of reasons.

"… Fine." I sighed, bitter "I'll show up to a few meetings from now on, but no more than once a week."

"Excellent." Peach smiled "Our next meeting is Thursday over summer break. Any members still on campus are welcome to come. Enjoy your breakfast."

With that she turned and proceeded out the door, closing it behind her. I slumped back onto my stool and held my head in my hands. That was a hell of a way to wake up.

'Fuck's sake, she really is worse than Goodwitch.'

…

The rest of my morning was filled with more failed attempts at chemistry and misery. I felt no closer to unraveling the secret to making Stimpacks from the available ingredients. Worse, now I was being blackmailed. Today had started bad and I knew it was only going downhill from there.

Because today was the final for combat practice.

After a few hours of sitting and failing, I hobbled my way to the sparring room and settled onto a bench alongside my teammates. I didn't hurt as much as I did earlier, but I still didn't have much patience in me.

I sat hunched over on the bench, not quite tuning out the rest of the class, but putting it far enough out of my mind to focus on other things.

Starting with my blackmail situation: Peach didn't have much on me at the moment, which was good, but she did have something on me, which was bad. She had me for small crimes, in reality. Breaking and entering plus potentially illegal use of school property weren't the most serious of crimes. If played right, I might be able to work my way out one way or another. However, that was then compounded by the fact that, should she go to Ozpin, he'd likely take an interest in what I was doing. He clearly wanted to know more about my world and so far hadn't pushed too hard to find out. But if he were to catch wind of this there's little doubt he would take some level of interest in it.

Then there was the issue of the stimpacks. I was still no closer to having a working formula despite my efforts. It was like a giant balancing act, I change one thing and thirteen different factors changed in the process. I try to increase the acidity, I basically produce poison. I try to rebalance it, I destroy the nutrients I need to actually make it work. It made me seriously wonder how the hell they'd made the stuff before the war. Even given the different ingredients I was working with, trying to re-work this thing was a nightmare.

Then there was the other issue I wasn't wanting to give much thought to: 'What the hell happened to Dala?'. I was still two and O for ideas on how to find her and I wasn't coming any closer to having a clue. My pip-boy wasn't any help even though I'd made it a morning routine now to wake up and spout any variation of 'find Dala' I could think of at it.

I was at the point that, if one more thing went wrong, I was going to snap and burn the whole school to the ground. Then dance on the ashes while singing 'Ain't that a kick in the head?'. Because all it was going to take was one more fucking thing going to hell in a handbasket and SOMEONE WAS GOING TO DIE.

'… I seriously need to blow off some steam.'

Up in the front of the students, Goodwitch was giving off instructions for the final as well as some other, probably not important information.

"- So that no one else loses any eyes, we'll be replacing the fire extinguishers before the start of next semester." She said, adjusting her glasses "Now then, in regards to Next semester's sparring classes." Goodwitch motioned to the hole in the wall. "Due to the structural failings of this room, we'll be integrating this class with the advanced courses. Starting next semester you'll be sharing and sparring with your senior classmen in the main combat atrium. You've been forewarned."

There was some murmuring amongst the students at that. Mostly accepting, but there appeared to be a few groans. Seems some people were worried about getting their asses handed to them.

"Now, to the matter at hand-" Goodwitch continued "As you are all aware, today is the final chance to fulfill any lingering requirements for the class. Which means that those of you who haven't sparred enough, today is the last chance to remedy that or double your requirements for next semester."

"There were requirements for this class?" I murmured

"Yea." Ruby said, looking over to me "You needed to spar at least three times to get a passing grade."

"Oh, psh, nothing to worry about then."

"… Yes there is." Weiss cut in "You've only gone twice."

"What?"

"You've only officially sparred twice so far."

I looked to Weiss in confusion. "No… I've fought Yang twice, plus the whole of team CRDL. That's three right there."

"Your second match with Yang doesn't count, you did it during group session rather than as an official match."

"… bullshit."

Weiss glared at me for a moment, then turned back to face Ms. Goodwitch before raising her hand.

"Yes, Ms. Schnee?" Goodwitch asked

"I have a question regarding some of the sparring sessions this past semester."

"And they would be?"

"A few times over the semester we had sparring matches consisting of varying sizes. Instead of one on one, they would be doubles or one against four, how would those matches be scored?"

"An excellent question, In those circumstances they matches would be counted as more than one depending on a number of factors. Ranging from their length, to the number of people involved, and the level of improvement shown." Goodwitch's eyes seemed to narrow onto me. "A match, for example, like the one between Team CRDL and your teammate, would qualify as two."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

I smiled at that, it meant that even if my rematch with Yang hadn't been official I still hit the mark.

"Interesting… is there anything that would disqualify a match?"

"Indeed there is." Goodwitch continued "If a match is too short, it can be disqualified on the grounds of not meeting the minimum time requirement."

I felt my confidence evaporate and got a sinking feeling in my gut. I looked at Goodwitch, even with my mask on I got the feeling she was reading my face. She smirked a little

"An example of that would also come from your teammates. Ms. Xiao Long's official spar with Mister Six lasted a short enough period that it doesn't qualify for either of them. That, and it fails the competency and challenge requirements as well, having lasted only a single punch before ending."

"Oh this is such a load of crap." I said

Goodwitch's look sharpened "Mister Six, unless you have a desire to be punished, please watch your language."

"I'm sorry, I get punched through a fucking wall and that's not good enough?"

"Mister Six" She said more sharply "While your second bout may have qualified, your refusal to make it an official match invalidated your efforts. The only person at fault here is you for your overt stubbornness. Especially considering you've also now put Miss Xiao Long in a similar position as yourself."

"He has!?" Yang chirped

"Yes, he has. Despite your propensity for combat Ms. Xiao Long, your two invalidated matches with Mister Six have left you in deficit as well."

I felt a small murmur ripple through the classroom as most of the students began to look back and forth between us and Goodwitch. Here I was, thinking I wouldn't have to worry about this stupid class. That there wasn't any feasible way you could have a final exam in class like this. Well, here I was, a fight short and going to need double next semester. Just what I needed on top of everything else.

'… actually, it might be. I needed a distraction anyway.'

"Alright, fine." I said "You want us both to go another round, we'll do just that."

Goodwitch blinked and quirked up an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"We're both short a fight, right?"

"… Yes."

"Then the fastest way to fix that is to have us fight each other, right?"

"That is not incorrect but-"

I ignored Goodwitch and turned to Yang "You ready for round three?"

Yang blinked and actually looked a bit surprised "Six I-I don't think-"

"Great, Let's go!"

I ignored Yang and walked to the locker room. I felt her reaction to fighting was a bit off, but I could easily chalk that up to not expecting me to initiate it. All I had to do was last long enough and put up enough of a fight to satisfy whatever Brahmin crap standard this place had. Shouldn't be too hard. Even if Yang was using her gauntlets, I had at least gone toe to toe with her once now. I had a few ideas of how she ticked.

In the locker room I ditched my uniform and pulled on Byz's leather armor. I cinched the bracers on tight and made sure the spaulder was in place. The leather vest still a bit stiff, but was probably going to be broken in by the end of today. I examined myself in the mirror to make sure everything was on properly, then moved onto my tools. I wrapped my fists in the boxing wraps and did a few jabs. I was a little giddy to finally use them, even if they were just strips of cloth. Felt nice to validate at least some of my decisions.

As I tested my wraps, I looked back amongst the rest of my weapons. Now I had an idea of what I was up against in fighting Yang. I knew she could take some degree of punishment. That night at the docks had shown as much. Plus aura, whatever it actually was, provided a level of defense against harm, even against bullets. I could easily go in guns blazing, level the playing field completely between us… maybe. But the idea of doing that still didn't sit right with me. Because I had first-hand experience in pushing aura past it's apparent breaking point as well. The results were red.

So instead of reaching for a hole puncher, I grabbed slicer. Something small, concealable, and a bit more multi-functional than a gun. I had a possible idea about how I could use it, but that was going to be a gamble all its own. I slid it into the cuff of my sleeve, wrapping a small length of the boxing wraps to it. With that, I was as ready as I was going to be so I walked back out of the locker room.

By the time I got back to the ring, Yang had already been waiting for me. She looked at me in growing confusion.

"You blew a hole in my old outfit." I supplied "Had to get a new one."

Yang nodded, her brow knitted and a look of concern on her face. If I were a betting man, I'd have said she was being reluctant for some reason. But that didn't make sense, this was Yang, the girl was practically 'fun' personified. Or at least was tied with Nora.

"The rules stand the same as they have for the past semester." Goodwitch said from the sidelines "You are to spar until your opponent has their aura depleted, is removed from the ring, or is otherwise rendered incapable of fighting. I must, once more, ask you to keep your fighting to within reasonable limits… That means you mister Six."

I fought the urge to flip her the bird right then and there.

With a tap of her scroll, the overhead displays produced a picture of me and Yang, in addition to a colored bar for each. If my understanding was fully grounded, we were both set to go.

"Are both combatants ready?"

I nodded and got into a fighting stance. Raring and ready for once to pummel or get pummeled.

Yang surprised me by actually doing the opposite.

"I'm sorry miss Goodwitch." Yang said, raising an arm "But I don't think I'm comfortable with this."

'… umm… what?'

"Excuse me?" Goodwitch asked, vocalizing my thoughts

"I know we have to do this… but- uh- I don't think this is a good idea."

I looked at Yang in confusion, feeling my head tilt to the side as I dropped my stance and set myself to rights.

"I'm sorry Yang… what?" I asked "You've punched me through a wall and now you're not comfortable sparring with me?"

"I'm afraid I must agree with Mister Six." Goodwitch said "You're newfound hesitance seems rather unfounded."

'Eugh, being in the same boat as Goodwitch makes me feel unclean.'

"Boo!" I heard someone shout from the peanut gallery "I wanna see you put him through the wall again!"

"Kindly remain silent Mister Winchester." Goodwitch responded.

"What's the holdup Yang?" I asked stepping closer "You were all gung ho about us punching each other before. You suddenly come down with a case of Hexaphobia?"

"N-no!" Yang said, obviously insulted by the idea. "Look, I just… I just don't think us sparring is a good idea, alright?"

"Yea? Well tough luck sunshine. We don't get a say in the matter. Unless, of course, you're saying you'd rather-"

"Why is that?" Goodwitch interrupted

Yang and I looked to Goodwitch. It was rude to interrupt people when they were talking, but we were both working toward a common goal at the moment. So I let it slide.

"Why what?" Yang asked

"Why do think it's a bad idea for you to spar with your teammate?"

"… N-no reason."

"Miss Xiao Long" Goodwitch began eyeing Yang intently "This unwillingness is unlike you. Unless you provide an adequate reason why you shouldn't fight, the spar will proceed forward."

'Seriously, I should not be agreeing with Goodwitch.'

"Seriously, what's the deal Yang?" I pestered "Normally I'm the one who'd be saying this was a bad idea, What's going on?"

"Nothing!" She said, annoyed "It's… it's just…"

"Just. What?"

Yang looked out to rest of the students present, clearly frustrated by something. When she turned back to me she looked surprisingly annoyed. Like I was twisting her arm over something I should be picking up on.

"Because you don't have an aura… you stubborn numbskull."

She said that last part just soft enough so I was the only one who heard it. I could've sworn after she said it though, the atrium was quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop. It was hard to tell, because I could suddenly hear my own heartbeat in my ears. I really was an idiot, how the hell did I forget about that?

"… is that true Mister Six?" Goodwitch asked, turning a pointed eye towards me.

I had to resist the urge to shout, 'No shit, bitch!'. She already knew I didn't have one. She was probably only asking so she could avoid any culpability of putting me in danger. Unfortunately, it'd just be my word against hers then, and everyone had more reason to take hers over mine.

"If it is, then what's the big deal?" I asked

The silence that pervaded the room lasted a moment longer. Then it evaporated, replaced by rapid murmuring from the rest of the class. It made sense then why Yang had tried to avoid drawing attention to it. Now my secret was out completely.

Well, one of them anyway.

"Mister Six-" Goodwitch continued after a moment "- an aura is one of the most fundamental tools in a huntsman's arsenal-"

"Yea- yea." I said, waving my hand sarcastically "Through the power and might of my soul I can break evil over my knee and shrug off getting shot by a tank."

Goodwitch actually blinked in surprise at that one.

"… wait." Yang said, turning to look at the overhead monitors. "If you don't have an aura, what's on the monitor up there?"

"My current condition."

Yang looked at me in confusion.

"I did say the thing on my wrist tracks a whole bunch of health related, right?"

"I vaguely remember that." Goodwitch said

"Well, that's why it's tracking it." I said, pointing to the monitor. "This thing takes my heart beat, blood pressure, body temp, and a multitude of other variables and condenses them down into one easily understood line. If it's full, I'm fine. If it's empty, call me a mortician."

"So any time you sparred in the past, you were actually getting hurt?" Yang asked

"Obviously."

"Doesn't that mean he also beat team CRDL without an aura?" I heard someone ask from the peanut gallery, probably Jaune.

"Yes it does and they should be ashamed." I answered, diverting attention away from me slightly.

A bit of laughter erupted from the rest of the class.

"Well, I'm afraid we can't allow you to spar then." Goodwitch said

"Why not?"

"Because, as you just made apparent, you don't have an aura. Or a clear understanding of what it is."

"Well that's because the last person who tried either couldn't or wouldn't stop trying to pretty it up."

I could see Weiss glaring at me from the crowd.

"Then I'll give you the 'simple' explanation of aura." Good witch stated "Through the use of your soul, you can increase your strength, stamina, and speed. It also will actively shield you from being hurt."

I stared at Goodwitch blankly. "Seriously, again with this?"

Goodwitch looked confused "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You honestly expect me to buy into this 'souls give you special abilities' garbage?"

"Garbage? Mister Six, its documented fact that-"

"That what? The human soul is real and lets you do magical BS?"

"It is and it is most certainly not magic." Goodwitch said sharply "Now watch your language."

"Right~" I sniped sarcastically "Because believing in some abstract manifestation of the human consciousness and after-life is a sure fire way to get super powers."

After saying it out loud, a strange thought crept into the back of my head.

'… Is that why Joshua was so hard to kill?'

I did my best to quickly silence that train of thought.

"I find your skepticism in established, documented, and widely used practices disturbing." Goodwitch said

"Will two just hurry up and fight?" Another voice called from the crowd "Some of us want to get on with our day."

'Then piss off, you vacuously twiney sphincter.'

"Very well then." Goodwitch sighed in frustration "If you refuse to step down, then we will have to remedy your issues with aura."

"And just how do you plan to do that?"

"Like so:" Goodwitch said, with a smile that oozed condescension "Ms. Xiao Long, please help Mister Six unlock his aura."

I looked at Goodwitch, then back to Yang. She looked as confused as I felt about the whole thing.

"… Now?" I asked looking back to Goodwitch.

"I don't see a reason as to why not. It's a simple enough process. You have nothing to lose by unlocking it."

I thought about it for a moment, what did I have to lose. If what they were saying was true, it opened a whole new avenue for me in terms of staying alive. I'd gain all the benefits with seemingly no downside aside from looking like a jackass. Clearly aura, whatever it may have been, was just a natural part of this world. It wouldn't make sense for me not to at least try it.

But there was a caveat to that. If they weren't being metaphorical, which I doubted anyway, then everyone here knew that it took a soul to have an aura. Which would open up a lot of avenues that I had no desire to walk down, or start trains of thought I didn't want to ride. Worse still, what if it didn't take? There was no guarantee I was going to get an aura. Which would imply to everyone here that I didn't have a soul. Probably not a good thing.

'And here I am, stuck between the rock of 'damned if I do' and the hard place of 'fucked either way'.'

I'd walked myself into this now, the only choice I had left was to play.

"Alright, fine" I sighed "Let's get this over with." I walked up to Yang, not quite sure what to do. "… What am I supposed to do?"

"Just… hold still." Yang said.

"Oookay."

Yang rolled shoulders and, with surprising grace, gently reached out and put her open right palm on my chest. She went to say something, then blinked and stared down at my chest.

"… what is it?" I asked

"Uh… nothing, it's just… you've got a very strong heart beat."

"Thank you, I take good care of it."

'And they say Cardiac Arrest isn't a good thing.'

"R-right."

Yang focused and for a moment I felt as if her hand was forcing itself harder against my chest.

"For it is in passing that we blah blah blah" Yang said softly, almost embarrassed "yadda yadda paragon of virtue and glory-"

I tuned Yang out as I began to feel something stirring in my chest. A warm pressure that I could feel beginning to well.

"Infinite in distance blah blah I release your soul and by my shoulder protect thee."

Yang removed her hand from my chest, but the warmth stayed. I felt it begin to grow, encompass the core of my being. A pressure grew with it. A pressure that willed it to move. I felt the warmth rise, quickly and steadily.

I bit back the urge to burp in Yang's face, exhaling it through my nose. The warmth vanished in a cloud of hot breath.

Yang stared at me a moment, then frowned.

"… Is something supposed to happen?" I asked "Because I don't feel any different."

"No, That's all there is to the awakening ceremony." Goodwitch said, perplexed. "Your aura should be unlocked now."

"Well… is it?" I asked

"It doesn't appear to be." Goodwitch frowned

I pushed down any degree of panic before it could rise. Needed to keep cool. "Wonderful, any ideas why?"

"Not many, the only defining factors when it comes to activating an aura is the training and willpower of the unawakened. Unless Miss Xiao Long has been slacking in her training, your aura should be active now."

"… Well I'm certainly not feeling any different. Am I supposed to look different?"

"Hardly." Yang said dryly

"Perhaps you should go visit the campus physician Mister Six. He may be able to shed some light on this situation."

'Yay, just what I wanted: To spend time with that cranky jerkoff.'

"What about our spar?" I asked.

"Given the nature of your situation, a temporary hold will be applied to you. Until the situation regarding your aura can be properly addressed, you will not be forced to participate. Though I insist you get it handled as soon as possible."

Part of me wanted to reach out and slap Goodwitch. She'd known the entire time that I didn't have an aura. At least, I was fairly certain she did. I'd told Ozpin at one point and I was fairly certain he'd at least share it with the one other person who was aware of my situation. But now that my aura situation was public, she wasn't going to force me to go through with anything. It didn't seem anyone was jumping to any conclusions about it either, yet. But that did me little comfort, since it still left me without any immediate answers.

But the way Goodwitch had worded her answer just now, did provide me with some small comfort.

"So you won't force me to fight-" I continued "But if I want to, I'm more than welcome to?"

"Well… yes, but I don't see any reason why-"

I about-faced back to Yang. I really wanted to spar now, namely so I could put the past few minutes out of mind in addition to the past few hours. If I didn't let off some steam I was going to be one unexpected jab away from doing something regrettably stupid.

"I've got no reason to stop now." I said "You still wanna do this?"

"I just said I wasn't comfortable with this." Yang said pointedly

"Yea, well I wasn't ok with it before either, guess what happened."

"Well how was I supposed to know you didn't have an aura?" She asked incredulously "I punched you into a wall and you were fine."

"Then what's the hold up?" I asked, slowly getting fed up "You know I can handle what you dish, so hit me already!"

"But now I'm worried I'm going to accidently hurt you."

"Didn't stop you before."

"Six I know you're strong and everything-"

"Yang."

But I'm not going to be ok with hurting you. Without an aura your-"

"I'm what!?" I snapped, getting pretty close to done now. "Because I swear, if you're about to say some stupid shit like I'm 'weaker' or more 'frail' than the rest of you, I'm going to deck you."

Yang stayed silent.

'… that's exactly what she was going to say, wasn't it.'

"… put'em up Yang."

I began closing the remaining distance between me and Yang.

"Look, Six, I-"

Before Yang could finish, my right arm flicked outward and caught her on the chin. It was a solid hit, and Yang stumbled backwards, failing to react in time. Her eyes widened in surprise. She apparently hadn't planned on getting punched in the face.

"Put'em up." I reiterated, still slowly closing the space.

Before Yang could react again, my left arm flicked out, hitting her in the cheek.

"Six-" Yang growled

I silenced her with a flick of my right to the other cheek.

"Put'em up Yang." I growled "Or I'm just going to keep hitting you."

I was officially in the zone of 'regrettably stupid'. Strangely enough, no one was rushing to stop me either.

"Put'em up."

*BOP*

"Put'em up."

*BOP*

"Put'em up."

*BOP*

"Put'em-"

Yang finally reacted. Just as my right began to flick out. She bared her teeth and weaved past my fist. I heard the mechanical clicking of her gauntlets in time react. I dipped to the side, deflecting her counter with my left forearm. He ballistic fist skidded off of my pip-boy, barrel redirected upward as fire and projectiles leapt from the barrel and into the ceiling overhead.

*KsShZzzK*

The radio on my pip-boy hummed to life as a put some space between me and Yang. With a few feet between us I got a good look at Yang. She was glaring at me furiously and looking no worse for wear.

"Alright" She snarled "You want to do this?" She slid into a stance, arms ready and feet planted "Bring. It."

My pip-boy's radio began to focus in, the sounds of amplified bass beginning to pound out through the speaker. A steady, one-two-three rhythm supplanted with a guitar. A familiar voice began to sing, as Drums came rolling in and the bass took a more complex quality.

"Come at me, and you'll see, I'm more than meets the eye~"

Beneath my mask, a vicious smile pulled itself across my face. The part of me that wanted to fight had won out. It hadn't had to try all that hard, given the stress. But another part of me knew I was behaving like a complete asshat.

The fighting part of me was keeping it quiet though.

"You think that, you'll break me, you're gonna find in time-"

The instant I picked up a stance Yang pounced. Her gauntlets at the ready, she dashed toward me and cocked her fist back. A wide swing, too wide to be effective. She likely knew that, but was either too mad to care or just getting warmed up.

I dipped out of the way again, knowing better than to take her punch point blank.

"You're standing too close to a flame that's burning, hotter than the sun in the middle of July-"

Yang pivoted with me, apparently prepared for me moving. Her wide swing missed, but she was already following with a smaller, more focused jab. I had hardly a split second to weave out of the way again, this time she missed by a hair.

"Sending out your armies but you still can't win, listen up silly boy, cuz' I'm gonna tell you whyyyy~"

By the time I noticed she was following with a kick, it had already planted itself into my side. It stung like I'd been hit with a baseball bat, knocking my off kilter. It set Yang up for another straight punch at my head. I wasn't dipping this time.

'Shit!'

"I Burn!"

Even as my head barely weaved out of the way, I felt the housings of Yang's gauntlet scrape my mask. The blast from the shotgun went off right next to my ear, feeling like someone stabbed my eardrum with an auditory knife. I didn't let it through me off balance, I couldn't afford to.

"Can't hold me now, you got nothing that can stop me!"

The glint of yellow caught my eye as Yang sank her fist firmly into my chest. I hardly had time to think before the expelling gases hit my chest with the forcing of a runaway truck.

"I Burn!"

I felt myself go airborne, blown off my feet and flying, the punch feeling like it broke something. I hit the ground some feet away, desperately trying to put air back into my lungs, what seemed like actual stars flickering across my vision for a moment.

"Swing all you want, like a fever I will take you down!"

I shambled to my feet, ignoring the pain in my chest. A brief glance showed Byz's work did the trick, the leather had somehow managed to tank the impact. But I wasn't going to bank on it saving me. I looked at Yang, she was standing ready with a look that said she wasn't holding back. But I knew from experience it was a lie. The first time we'd fought she'd thrown me into a wall without trying. She was still holding back. I didn't know whether to take that as an insult or a blessing. But I was aware of my immediate mistake: I'd let Yang take control of the rhythm of the fight. She could lead me around the ring at her leisure, so long as she kept me off kilter, and I'd have no way to counter it. She'd pummel me into the floor at her leisure if she was feeling vindictive. I was going to have to regain control.

Thankfully, experience was also giving me ideas on how to get my footing back. I just needed to avoid dying in the process.

Once I was completely on my feet, Yang dove back into me. But I didn't back off, if I did that she'd just keep put me back down. I met her charge with my own instead. If I was going to have a chance at coming out on top this time, I was going to need to play offensive.

With my sudden change in distance, Yang switched her punch mid-way, trading her straight for a hook. I waited until her fist was almost an inch from me before I countered. I raised my arm and used it to guide Yang's punch past me, going over my head as I dipped down. Before she could re-orient, I placed a low shot into her ribs. She didn't look like she felt it, but I wasn't looking to deal damage yet. I needed to control the fight before that could happen.

"Reign supreme? In your dreams, you'll never make me bow."

I leapt backwards as Yang moved in to counter, swinging her leg in a round house kick to gain ground. She followed the motion in a way I hadn't expected. She aimed her gauntlets behind her and fired them both simultaneously. The blast was somehow strong enough to launch her towards me, faster than she'd lunged before. Her right fist snapped back around front of her, flying into another straight. I pivoted my right arm to redirect it. The punch carried enough momentum I could hardly move it, forcing me to keep weaving with the blows. She was holding the rhythm tight, but there was still room for me to work.

"Kick my ass? I'm world class, and super saiyan now."

I flicked a jab at her chest, hoping to begin building momentum towards a reversal. But Yang just took the hit and kept plowing towards me, hardly noticing as I landed two more hits into her. She barreled forward and whipped her left arm back. I was expecting another straight, but she turned it into a haymaker. I narrowly blocked her forearm and kept her gauntlet from coming close to my head. The gunshot ringing bells in my other ear now.

She carried through the momentum, bringing her other arm whipping around to hit my other side. I couldn't transfer my guard to that arm, not in time to divert it. I weaved again, immediately slipping up a guard after that to prep for any follow up punches. I was right to, as Yang was rolling inward with the haymaker. Her punches weren't hitting, but she was forcing me onto the defensive, and even if they weren't connecting, just keeping my guard up hurt. If I was going to win, I couldn't guard for what I had planned, if I tried that she would probably break my arms.

"You're starting up a fight that you just can't finish, watch the little hearts while they scrape you off the floor."

As Yang moved into her next punch, I slipped into her. Moving past her guard I drove my knee upward, pulling as much strength as I could from them in such a short movement. My knee struck her right beneath the ribs, probably in the diaphragm. Most hits like that would leave someone short of breath and floundering. Yang just exhaled sharply before sucking a breath through her teeth.

I knocked her arms away from me, keeping her from building momentum back into an immediate counter. I began landing small jabs into her chest, still just trying to annoy her. I hoped I knew what I was doing. Because if I was wrong I was playing with fire. After land a three blows to her, Yang pulled her arms into a guard and weaved away, anticipating a fourth.

I took the chance to perform an alternate Ranger takedown, bobbing low and sweeping a scything kick at her legs

"Bringing out your rockets? Well shoot'em off baby, high as you may go I'm the one who's gonna soaaar!"

Yang began to tumble. Before she hit the ground she was already spinning. Her hand planted firm against the stone floor and she flipped back to her feet without losing a step. She moved to begin her assault anew, the rhythm still hers.

'Almost there, just a little further!'

"I burn!"

Yang launched herself at me with a flying kick. Firing her gauntlets in mid-air to add force. Even as I kept my guard, her heel pole-axed its way into my shoulder with a force that should've shattered her heel.

Because it certainly felt like she'd done the same to my shoulder.

"Can't hold me now, you got nothing that can stop me!"

She landed and bobbed downward as I tried to hit her with a cross to the face. She retaliated immediately with a counter cross that nearly got me in the stomach. Even as I weaved, I felt the fire leaping from the barrel of the gauntlet. My side burned sharply, it'd caught some of the muzzle flash.

"I burn!"

I used the momentum from my weave to swing a round house into Yang.

I had a second to register her blocking it. Then half that as her block turned into a grab as she clinched my leg. Before I could think, I'd lost my footing and was slammed into the floor. Bells rang as my head snapped into the floor.

"Swing all you want, like a fever I will take you down!"

I retaliated blindly. Not out of panic, if I lost my cool now I was done. But I needed to get up, or else I was. My free leg curled toward my and sprang out wildly in the direction of my other leg. I drove my heel into something squishy. I thought I heard Yang vocalizing something and the hold on my leg vanished and I pulled both of them toward me. Somersaulting backwards onto my feet. Bells were still ringing in my ears and my head was dipping without my consent. I'd hit the ground the wrong way. I could see Yang standing in front me, her mouth quirk upward in an angry snarl. It looked like she had a small red glow on her cheeks. I was hoping that meant I was starting to wind her.

I needed to move forward.

"It doesn't have to be this way, let's kiss and make up, then you'll learn-"

I felt myself weaving without intending to. With my head swimming like it was, keeping balance while running wasn't easy. Every step felt unpredicted and uncontrolled. A blessing, perhaps, because it made it harder for Yang to immediately land a hit. I felt the first one whiff past me. The second clipped my left arm. By the third, I had enough cognizance to control myself again.

I stopped shifting like a drunken trooper and slipped in close to Yang again. Her eyes widened as I suddenly closed the distance, and I saw her fist begin moving in my peripherals. I shunted it to the side with my arm and landed another low shot in her ribs. Her snarl turned to a grimace, perhaps starting to feel the ache in her lungs.

I began to pull back for a head-butt, but to my surprise, Yang beat me to it. Slamming the middle of her brow into the tip of my mask at the chin. Clever girl had learned from last time.

She pushed me back again and I obliged. Putting some space between us and holding a stance at a few feet.

"You can fight your life away, I get what I want, so don't bother and just watch me burn."

"Just give up Six." Yang puffed angrily "I don't want to accidently hurt you."

"Well that's a damn shame Yang." I said, breathing even and fine "'Cuz I'm not even warmed up yet, and you couldn't even if tried."

"OH YEAH!?"

With a roar, Yang launched at me with her gauntlets again. I sidestepped and let her fly past me. Her arms whipped forward, loosing another burst, and braking Yang's momentum. I could see a small fury beginning to burn in her eyes. I'd insulted her and she was letting it lead her. Good.

"Hotter than the sun, feel my fire, Pyromaniac my desire-"

Yang lunged back at me, throwing a straight that I easily dipped away from.

"Thought that you could see the truth, 'till I just burned down the booth-"

A hook flew in from the opposite side, whiffing past the side of head. It missed by a mile.

"Human torch can't fuc-"

I raised my left arm, deflecting one final cross. Her gauntlet skipped off my pip-boy and I heard the music die as the radio cut out.

I countered with a cross to Yang's chin. She winced, and I slipped in one last time.

Then I slipped around her.

She recovered in time to begin turning towards me, I saw at least one of her eyes begin to widen.

Then I grabbed a fistful of her hair at the longest section, right down the middle. I kicked Yang in the small of her back and she was off balance, held upright only by the hair in my left hand.

I flicked my right wrist, and the straight razor materialized from the sleeve. Its handle danced across my knuckles, coming to rest in my palm as the thin blade was exposed. Before Yang could say anything, I drew the small blade across the hair clenched in my fist. In one swift, effortless motion, I severed about a four inch chunk of hair from the bottom of Yang's hair.

With my grip on her removed, Yang tumbled forward. She rolled to her feet and turned to face me. I held my hand openly, razor in one hand and a collection of cut hair in the other. Her eyes went wide as I dumped the chunked of dead skin cells to the floor, scattering the golden strands.

"Yeah, Yang" I answered "Not even if you tried, what're you going to do?"

For a second, the room went so quiet I swear I could of heard Ruby gasp in fear for my immediate safety. Then Yang's face contorted from shock to pure rage. With a roar, fire erupted from her unevenly cut mop of hair and her eyes flared crimson red.

'Figured as much, here we g-'

Yang was in front of me before I had time to move.

'SHIT!'

I pulled back in time to avoid taking an uppercut, dropping my razor. But I could feel the wind it generated, and the heat Yang was emanating. Like shoving my within an inch of a roaring campfire. Yang didn't wait to put the pressure on now. She took the Rhythm back full force with a left hook. Only narrowly failing to take my head with it.

I back pedaled as fast as I could, but Yang was faster now. It was just like the last time we sparred, or when we fought at the docks. I had no idea what this was, but it made Yang frighteningly faster and stronger. The fervor she chased me with bordered on bloodthirsty. It was like I was staring some sort of mythic monster in the eyes after kicking it.

Yang's arms began flicking jabs like a machine gun. Order and control replaced with ferocity and rage. I moved to the side, just barely keeping out of the cloud of death and fire Yang was unleashing.

The expended shells burst from the receivers of Yang's gauntlets, and her punches lost their perforating property. But most certainly not their bite.

Yang sprang at my, left leg rising up in a kick as she pulled another belt of shotgun shells from a small pouch on her hip. I dodged the first, but she followed through with her other leg turning it into a butterfly kick. The second hit collided with my head like a sledge hammer. I was only able to register her slapping a belt of shells into her other gauntlet before going flying for a second time.

I tumbled as I hit the ground, swaggering to my feet in time to see Yang ready to plant her fist into my head. My upper body dipped backward, watching the gauntlet fly past my face, seeing the mechanisms and muzzle flare before I dipped away again. I saw Yang already following me, she wasn't going to give me an inch if she could avoid it. She was acting like she wanted to kill me.

'breathe, focus, keep ahead of her-'

Yang twisted and her fist came up in an overhead punch.

'DUCK!'

I dipped and Yang sailed pest me, planting her fist into the floor. She didn't even look back when she reared her legs up and planted the both of them into the small of my back. With a force not unlike a grenade, Yang launched me forward and away from her. I tumbled back to the ground, rolled roughly and prepared to face her.

She was already upon me by the time I looked, kneeling on the ground as she was flying at me. Fist cocked, teeth bared, and eyes glowing red like an inferno.

She was a foot away when instinct finally kicked in and VATs snapped open. The world ground to a halt, Yang floating in mid-air gracefully. I couldn't move, nothing could while VATs was running. Well, technically, everything was still moving, just so slow it seemed like time had stopped. But for practical sake, it may as well have been stopped.

Which let me assess where to move next.

I stopped VATs and rolled to the left, letting Yang crash down where I'd been knelt a moment prior. I sprang to my feet in time to meet Yang's next punch. She flew to her feet with a jab. I slipped in and gave her a counter cross. She didn't even pretend to feel it, and came in with a hook.

I snapped open VATs again, judged, and dodged at a hair's breadth. Countering with the opening.

She roared and began throwing straights with no sense to them. Intent to just hit me whatever way she could regardless of effect.

With each one I snapped VATs open for only a fraction of a second. Stuttering her movements enough to think. Enough to dodge, wait for an opening, and strike. I didn't get many, but I was getting what I wanted.

I was playing a dangerous game though. Using VATs like this came with a serious consequence. I couldn't rely on it like this for long. But maybe, just maybe long enough.

Yang's frustration reached a fever pitch. She stopped throwing jabs and closed the distance. Bringing her left arm low for an uppercut. I weaved with VATs and head-butted her in the nose. Her head moved back only slightly, but I knew she felt it.

A hook came flying to my head, I avoided it unaided. She spun into a kick and I dipped with it. Using the momentum of my rise to send my fist into her diaphragm again. Another burst of air leapt from her mouth, followed by a grab at my shoulders.

She tried to grapple me, maybe pull me into a clinch and crush me into submission. I drove my knee into her stomach to counter it, then pushed her arms off of me. I punched her in the face again, and she answered with another blind haymaker. Her grip on the Rhythm had slipped. She'd let her anger get the better of her and now she was trying to get ahold of the lead again.

She flew into another butterfly kick, but VATs let me stutter right past her. She touched down and I brought an overhead punch of my own down on top of her. My fist connected with the side of her head. Even as she tried to roll with it, I pressed forward. I sent a low kick into her side as she rolled. Her momentum ate most of the effect it would've had, but not all of it. Before she could get up, I sprang forward with an axe kick. My heel caught her square on the shoulder

With a roar and burst of heat, she pushed back to her feet. Sending another jab full force at me. Another stutter and I was past it. I planted another cross dead center of her chest and followed it with a proper Ranger takedown. The impact didn't send Yang back as far as it should've. But I saw her stagger. A brief headshake later and I could see her eyes again.

The fire in her eyes was burning, perhaps even hotter than when it first lit. But something was missing, like the intensity of it was waning thin.

She leapt at me again. But her movements were slower than the torrent she'd come at me with before. My plan had taken a while, but it was beginning to work. The longer we went, the more noticeable it became.

In what seemed a last ditch to end the spar now, Yang threw herself at me. Trying to hit me with a flurry of blows. The first dozen I had to stutter through, and she nearly got me too. If she'd kept that pace, She might've just blown me out of the ring. But she didn't. After the first, the second dozen dropped in speed with each swing. By the fourth of the second set, I could stop stuttering. By the end of the set, Yang's hair lost its burning glow and her eyes cooled back to their lilac hue. Her breathing was ragged and if the sweat on her brow was an indicator, she was finally out of steam. Fighting the way she had wasn't sustainable, regardless of how you do it.

"W-w… what?" She puffed out, breathing ragged.

I was shuffling on my feet, still full of energy and ready to start my counter attack. "Let me give you a quick tactics lesson Yang. Twice as bright-"

I closed the space between us and dipped low. Before she could react, I threw all of my momentum into a cross straight at her stomach. It connected, and if the look on her face was an indicator, she felt all of it.

"Half as long!"

I rose up, bring with me an upper cut to Yang's chin. Her head snapped back sharply and she stumbled, backpedaling to make room and build steam again. I wasn't going to let her. She had her turn and now it was mine.

My arm flicked out and around Yang, my hand cupping the back of her head.

A small explosion went off at the front of my skull as I drove her head into mine at full force. Despite that, she stayed on her feet. Dazed, but still on her feet. Give her credit, she could take a beating.

My hands snaked to her right arm. They gripped hold of my target and my fingers slid over the edge. Grasping tightly. I just needed to hold whatever was holding it in place wasn't more securely attached to Yang.

No sense in hurting the poor girl.

I raised my leg and spun, giving Yang a mule kick to the chest. Wrenching my target free from her arm in the process, I slid it over my right arm and turned to face Yang.

She stumbled to a stop and collected herself. She blinked and looked down to her right hand, likely noticing the missing weight. Her eyes frantically shot up to me.

With one half of Ember Celica mounted to my arm, I did my best to mimic Yang. With a motion of my right arm, The bracelet re-expanded into a full-sized gauntlet. It was heavy, but I'd expected it to be heavier. I was getting cocky now, I knew I was, but I couldn't help it for some reason. Like some great ball of pent up aggression suddenly decided now was the time to cut loose.

"Now." I said "Why don't we see how much you like hitting the wall, hmm?"

Normally when I say a line like that, people start freaking out.

Yang just grit her teeth and got into a stance.

'HELL YES.'

I charged Yang. The instant I was upon her, she tried to counter with a left hook. But it was slow, I had no trouble weaving past it and putting a right cross in her face.

I've avoided using firearms in sparring up until this point because I've been genuinely concerned about hurting someone. You punch someone, you kick them, you spit in their eye, they'll get back up most times and live healthy. You put a bullet in someone, you cut them or stab them wrong, and they don't live long. I wanted to avoid that. I had no reason to want to hurt any of them, and I still don't. In that instance though, I was caught in the flow of the fight I'd started. I was finally coming out ahead, and I wasn't afraid to ride the wave.

And not seeing Yang's head pop like an overripe piece of fruit, was the final nail on the restraint I had.

Yang stumbled again, but stood tall, tanking the blow as best she could. But she wasn't recovering fast enough to stop me. I flicker jabbed her with my off-hand, keeping her off-balance.

Ember Celica must've lacked the recoil dampening of the Ballistic fists I'd used in the past. I'd felt the entire shockwave of kinetic force slam backwards into my forearm. It'd hurt like the dickens. I was going to need to ask Yang If I could take Ember Celica apart at some point. For now, I was going to need to fight smarter, if I threw a punch wrong I'd risk blowing off a portion of my hand. Or breaking my arm, whichever came first.

I flew another flicker jab and Yang tried to counter. But it did her little good. I weaved through her attack and kept at her, pivoting and striking every move I was free to. She'd completely run out of ground, and I had all the steam to keep fighting.

"RRAH!" Yang shouted, wildly lashing her left arm out.

I dipped down one last time, low and into her guard.

She glared down at me, ferocious and unyielding.

I rose with an upper cut that sent her flying.

She touched down less than a dozen feet away.

I lunged, throwing all the strength I could into my legs. I felt airborne for a moment, as I flew towards her. She was prone on the ground. This was over.

I slammed down on top of her, fist cocked back and ready to strike.

"Enough!" Goodwitch finally cut in

I stayed over top of Yang, fist cocked and ready. Yang glared back up at me, furious.

"That's enough Mister Six." Goodwitch said authoritatively "Stand. Down."

I took a second to breathe. I looked down at Yang and she still glared at me.

Then I got up, sliding Ember Celica back off my arm. Once it was free, it collapsed back into its bracelet configuration. I carefully set it back with Yang.

Then I turned to look at the class.

"Listen well." I said, serious as the grave "For as far back as I can remember I've had to fight tooth and nail to stay alive. I've been stabbed, shot, beaten half to death, and had more bones broken in a day than any of you coddled pansies will experience in a life time." I felt my fists tighten and something welling in my chest as I spoke. "I'm supposed to accept that some absolute bullshit based around the concept of the human soul is supposed to: 'bear my burdens and shield me'? 'Tend my wounds and slows my bleeding'? 'Make me stronger, keep air in my lungs, and give me the hope to keep fighting'? Is that supposed to be some kind of joke? Because guess what, I'M NOT FUCKING LAUGHING."

"Mister Six!"

"I've made it this far, because when the chips are down, I stop screwing around. When the situation calls for it, I stop pulling my punches. I didn't ask for your pity, I don't need it, and I sure as hell don't want it."

I turned back to look at Yang. She was still glaring up at me.

"Because I've survived a lot worse."

I extended my hand down to her. She continued glaring at me, but I could see a hint of confusion in her.

"Now can we please move on already?"

Yang glared at me angrily. Then rolled her eyes and accepted my hand up.

I promptly fell forward, landing next to Yang and surprising her.

Pain coursing through my every nerve ending.

…

Fun fact about VATs: it works with the central nervous system. A processor inside the pip-boy, when activated, increases the relay speed between my nerves. Effectively letting the user process information faster than average. Which is why time always feels like its stopping. It's not, I'm just thinking it is because its moving too damn slow. But that comes with a caveat. The human mind and nervous system can only handle so much before it starts to be overtaxed. Which is the reason for the Autonomic Protection system. To prevent VATs from theoretically causing long term damage due to over use.

Unfortunately, that also wasn't fool proof. If VATs is used in a way it was never intended, the AP system was ignored altogether and the user was left without a safety net.

Stuttering VATs so I could keep up with Yang and avoid getting hit? Definitely not an intended use.

I'd had it happen once or twice before, where I'd overloaded my nervous system by ignoring the AP. It nearly got me killed once or twice. Causing me to freeze up the next time I used VATs. Mercifully, I knew the trouble that came from doing it, so I generally knew to avoid it.

Because having it happen felt like someone was driving screws into every major nerve cluster on your body. It was a pain that was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The only mercy was that the pain wasn't permanent. But it took proper rest to have fully disappear.

After I collapsed, Goodwitch had someone drag me to the Nurse's station. Again. I wasn't sure if they had a bed for me by this point, but they let me rest all the same.

" Sciatic nerve seems to be alright." Nurse Ochre said "Though the peroneals seem a bit strained still."

The physicians on the other hand did not.

Both the nurse and the doctor kept an eye on me as I rested. Not much I could do to stop them at first, it hurt too much to move.

"Fascinating" Doc Azure said "I've never seen something quite like this come from standard sparring before."

"Mmm, we went a little overboard."

"I'd say, you'd normally see something like this from someone with much more severe injuries."

Tired of lying in bed, I tentatively sat up. It hurt, but I was slowly regaining mobility. "I've had it happen a few time in the past." I grunted "I know it isn't a good thing, so I try to avoid having it happen very often."

"Well" Doc sighed "At least you're trying. I'd recommend you take it easy for the next day or two. Pushing it will only exacerbate the damage."

"I know" I sighed "Wish I didn't but I do, thanks."

I stood stiffly and hobbled to the nearest wall for support. Everything was aching again, beautiful.

"By the way-" Doc continued "I'm glad you took my advice and finally had your aura unlocked."

"Yea, lot of good it did me." I grunted sarcastically

"Well of course not, with the way you've been getting knocked around, it's a miracle you have one at all."

'… huh?'

I looked over my shoulder at the doctor. "What do you mean?"

The doctor blinked. "Well, Aura is a physical manifestation of your soul-"

'Here we go again.'

"-and as such is related to your physical condition. The strong you are when it's activated, the stronger it is as a result."

"I was in tip top shape when it happened though."

"Maybe so, but another factor that plays into it is what you've been through up to that point."

The doctor motioned to a skeleton he had hanging in a corner of the office. I didn't want to know the poor schmuck that died just to get hung up in the office.

"Think of Aura as you would any cell in your body, or even as a part of your body. Like a bone. It starts out healthy and strong but, as it's subjected to stress, it can grow stronger or weaker. Every time you've been hurt, suffered injury, or taken a step closer to the grave, your aura will grow weaker. From what we've determined, it's cumulative as well. So even if you were fit as could be when it was unlocked, everything done up until then would still have an impact."

"… why the hell do you know so much about this?"

The doctor shrugged guiltily "I majored in Aura theory and physical therapy."

"Lovely."

"Now that it's unlocked though, you can do much with it-"

"Doc-" I interrupted "While I'm sure this is right up your alley, My literal everything hurts and I want to go lay down. I stop in later, aight?"

The doctor coughed into his hand "Hrm, yes, I suppose that would be best. Rest well, you'll need it yet."

With that I shut the door and shambled down the hallway. Hurting the whole way back. I was alone for once. Must've pissed someone off and they decided to leave me alone. Fine with me, I was liable to be rude anyway.

But what the doc said stuck with me. He talked about aura in a way I'd understood. He dropped all the flowery bullshit and actually explained it to me. Like it was some large organ, muscle, or other part of the body. Given all the crap I've gone through, it would make sense then, why it was so weak. But even then it made no sense to me. He still referred to aura as being your soul. That had to be bullshit. There was no way I could quantify that. What list would you put, 'soul based superpower' under. Probably the same one… as… Solar Powered.

I stopped shambling as a chill arched its way through me.

I looked fearfully down at my pip-boy. The doctor's words rang in my head.

' I'm glad you took my advice and finally had your aura unlocked'

'finally had your aura unlocked'

'Aura Unlocked'

My fingers fumbled with the dials and nobs. I struggled to pull the status screen open

'Well, Aura is a physical manifestation of your soul'

I opened it and flipped through the menu options. My target was the one labeled 'perks'. I tore down the list of names and descriptions, Vault Boy icons depicting the mascot performing various feats whizzed by. I knew if there was something out of place, I'd see it.

'Physical Manifestation-'

I found it.

'OF YOUR SOUL'

Depicted on the list was Vault boy. He had a glow encasing his body, with a heart beating in the center of his chest.

AURA OF LIFE

While trapped in the world of Remnant, you did some soul searching and discovered, hey, you have one! While enabled, your aura will protect you from bullets, fists, blades, blunts, explosions, and the elements. Though you don't seem to have a lot of it.

There was a small slot at the top of the pip-boy. Right next to my health, it read 'Aura%: 0.0 '

After reading the description, I felt my feet give out underneath me and I hit the floor. I barely registered the blinding pain that shot through me as I leaned against the wall for support.

'Holy shit, I have a soul.'